Splinter group of the Arta TNG courting supporters as far places as Buroa, Hargeisa and the Emirates .

Splinter group of the Arta TNG courting supporters as far places as Buroa, Hargeisa and the Emirates .

Nairobi (AllPuntland) – Abdiqassim Salat Hassan, the former head of one of the splinter groups of the mortuus Arta TNG is said to be in full activity collecting people in favour of his political idiosyncrasies from places as far as Hargeisa, Buroa and the Emirates.

A contender himself for the candidacy of the Presidency for the transitional federal government to be formed at the end of the ongoing Somali peace talks, Abdiqassim is said to be gathering as much supporters as he could to win the Presidency.

Former clerks and sympathisers of one of the splinter groups of the Arta TNG have been travelling in many parts of Somalia over the past few weeks spreading the word in order to win supporters mainly in the northwest regions of Somalia.

Sources close to the Arta TNG confirmed that delegates had been dispatched to northwest Somalia, and areas controlled by the RRA.

One of his deputy Prime Ministers, Osman Kaluun visited Hargeisa and Buroa and is now in the UAE soliciting people who will vouch their support for Abdiqaasim in the yet-to-be-determined final round of the Somali peace talks when members of the National Assembly (MPs) will be selected to appoint a President for the Federal transitional government of Somalia.

Yusuf Dheeg, himself from northwest Somalia, and the foreign minister for the Arta TNG along with Hussein Salah, a minister, are presently in UAE on similar activities. As confirmed by reports reaching our local office in Hargeisa, they are believed to be courting potential participants comprising of traditional elders and ordinary civilians who could represent Somaliland (northwest Somalia) in the final leg of the ongoing Somali peace talks that had been in due process despite intermittent stop and go complications.

In Mogadishu, Abdiqassim himself has been tirelessly canvassing support among his Habar-Gidir/Hawiye traditional elders, mainly those who supported the Arta TNG.

Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, a deputy for one the splinter RRA groups who accompanied Abdiqassim on his last trip from Nairobi was in Baidao since last week. Mr Habsade is said to have been engaged in canvassing efforts since his return to Baidao.

There is talk that IGAD representatives are assisting the Arta TNG and Abdiqassim to build a strong support base in his favour from other regions of Somalia, Somaliland in particular.

Our reporter in Nairobi approached Somali delegates there for confirmation. It has been suggested that certain representatives of IGAD have formed intimate ties with certain leaders while in Nairobi, and are therefore very much playing their cards to assure that their man reaches the finish line in the final leg of the race.

One political analyst commented “It does not surprise me that Abdiqassim is campaigning again, and he knows fully well that this is no Arta”.

“The competition in Nairobi is far more complex, and contenders for the Presidency are senior political hawks who had been around the block a few time more than he” he added.

Nonetheless, there appear to be signs of hope for the Somali peace talks despite fresh round of disagreements stemming from reported irregularities and alterations of terms of the 29th January peace accord by IGAD representatives. All eyes are now on IGAD and partners, and how well they will tackle this predicament of their own making, and how efficiently the impasse could be resolved.